CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's basketball team honored seniors Grace Florendo, Ava Grey, Kayla Ishibashi and Ruva Kiara before the game and then went on to capture a pivotal 68-61 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday at Roberts Pavilion. 

With the win, CMS moves even with Pomona-Pitzer in the loss column as it stays in the SCIAC chase heading into the final week of the regular season. CMS is now 9-13 overall and 5-8 in the SCIAC, while Pomona-Pitzer slips to 11-12 overall and 6-8 in the SCIAC. 

Amanda Kerner had 18 points for CMS, including four three-pointers, while Katie Resendiz added 18 points and 10 rebounds, including a key put-back late in the contest to help seal the win. 

CMS never trailed after taking a 5-4 lead early, but the Athenas had to hold off several Pomona-Pitzer rallies after leading by as many as 13. Kerner closed out the first quarter with a three-pointer to make the score 16-8 in favor of CMS, and a three-pointer from Renee Chong gave CMS its first double-digit lead at 22-10. The Sagehens got back within five points, but Resendiz shot 4-4 from the line to close out the half and give CMS a 32-22 lead going into the break. 

The Sagehens got as close as two points with 7:44 to go on a Jadyn Lee jumper, two of her 25 points, to make it 53-51 but Kerner beat the shot clock with a runner. Kiara and Chong made four straight foul shots to get the lead up to 60-53 with 3:36 left, but Lee answered with a three-pointer. Kerner made two foul shots to stretch the lead to 62-57, before Abigail Homan made a tough move in the paint to close the gap to 62-59 with 1:15 left.

CMS ran the shot clock all the way down and missed just before the horn, but Resendiz came up with a big offensive rebound and put back to make it a two-possession game. Tanya Ghai then had a big defensive play to deny Lee a three-pointer and force a turnover, and Kerner sealed it with two free throws. 

Chong finished with 16 points, and Kiara added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Athenas, who held a 44-26 edge on the glass. 

CMS will be back in action on Monday when it takes on Caltech on the road before returning home for its final regular season home game against Cal Lutheran on Wednesday.